Blanquear
by FFFX
Summary: Kuchiki Rukia is assigned to Karakura Japan for standard Hollow patrol. She never expected to find above-average Hollows. Especially one with orange hair... EDIT 4/17/11: Re-posted first chapter with writing improvements. No major story changes.


Blanquear

–

The souls of the dead take residence in a realm known simply as the Soul Society. For better or worse, all souls that pass on properly are sent to that one dimension, appearing in one of the eighty districts of the Wandering Soul City, Rukongai. It is there that human spirits that possess strong spirits, and iron wills manifested in potent Spiritual Power, Reiryoku, are drawn to the Court of Pure Souls, Seireitei. In the Seireitei these souls are educated at the Spiritual Arts Academy, Shinoreijutsuin, where they are taught to become the Gods of Death, the Reapers of Souls, Shinigami.

Shinigami are taught that they have two main duties to the universe. The first duty is to perform an act called Soul Burial, Konso, on the still pure souls known as the Plus. The second duty, is to seek out the impure souls known as the Hollow, and exterminate them wherever they may find them.

Shinigami exist as spirits, invisible to the human eye, and unfelt by the mortal world directly. Their actions, however, are far more important to humans than most would ever know. First, a Plus that lingers in the world of the living, Gensei, will eventually become a Hollow if it does not pass on to Soul Society. Second, and most importantly, is that Hollows themselves are extremely dangerous to both the living and the dead.

Hollows devour souls, and while those that devour bodiless Pluses are horrible, those who rob mortal humans of their life on earth are unforgivable. While Shinigami by themselves cannot be felt directly, Hollows who rob mortals of life can, so every life saved by a Shinigami can be felt indirectly as that life continues on.

It was destined perhaps, on that fated day, that Kuchiki Rukia was assigned to patrol District 3600; the district known by humans as Karakura Town. The district where the great events of the coming century would soon unfold.

_And so the blade swung down..._

–

Chapter 1: Karakura Monstruo

–

Rukia's eyes were closed as she stood perfectly still. The wind rustling her black uniform as she stretched her sixth sense in search of something. At this point, she would take anything. The sixth sense was strange at times, for it worked similarly to sound, and in the same breath felt more like a sense of air pressure than anything. The best working explanation for it was that sound generated by things with a strong spiritual presence carry further than normal, but when close enough there is a distinct weight in the air that can be identified, a Spiritual Pressure, Reiatsu.

_It's close..._

Rukia realized that it was minutely stronger than average, but she was considerably stronger than the average Shinigami of her rank. She had nothing to fear from the average run of the mill Hollow. She opened her eyes and kicked off her perch on a telephone pole and began heading in the direction of the echoing roar.

Then it grew louder.

_It's there. _She turned immediately down a small alley and her speed jumped, traversing its entire length in a single step and another step landed her in another alley, her target directly across the way from her.

The Hollow was large, roughly twelve feet tall, with faded green a purple skin. It's face was adorned with the Hollow's tell, a large bone white mask wrapping around its entire head. The mask was wide and shaped like a fish's skull with large square teeth. It was standing over the cowering form of a young Plus, a little girl.

Rukia turned up her own Reiatsu, drawing the monster's attention immediately. It turned away from the easy meal and focused instead on her. _Good,_ she thought, _I'm not too late._

The beast roared, Rukia grasped her sword.

The beast charged, Rukia jumped.

In a single step she stood behind its back, her sword sheathed before any could have even seen her draw it. The Hollow's head split open horizontally, cut off from the eyes up. The beast died, dissolving into a black mist.

Rukia smiled down at the little girl and had to force herself to hide her wince. While the girl's head was bleeding, it was merely an echo injury from her human death. That did not bother Rukia. What bothered her instead was the young Plus' Chain of Fate, Inga no Kusan. The Chain of Fate was a very important spiritual organ, and immediately after death, for those who have lingering attachments to their mortal lives, it is external. It would be internalized once the Plus was sent to Soul Society as the Binding Chain, or Saketsu, but until then it was subject to Encroachment.

The girl's chain was painfully short, down to the last three links. When the chain runs out, the soul would transform into a Hollow. "It is okay now." Rukia began, confident that at the very least it was not too late, even if it was painfully close. "I am not here to hurt you. I am a Shinigami, I am here to send you to a better place than here." She lifted her sword from the sheath a tiny bit and tapped the pommel with her thumb. "It's just a light tap."

The girl nodded slowly at first, but stopped suddenly. "Wait! Um... what happened to the monster?"

Rukia's uncertainty crept into a frown. She knew the answer, but for the girl to ask was odd. It had tried to eat her, why did she care for its fate? Still, Rukia answered anyway. "Its spirit was purified, it has passed on as well, and now it is no longer a monster."

The girl brightened. "I'm glad."

Rukia smiled slightly. _What a strange girl._ "I'll perform Konso now." She lifted her blade and aimed the pommel at the girl's forehead, stamping it.

As the girl began to vanish she seemed to remember something. "My name is Nadeko! Ri-!" She was cut off as she finished crossing over to the other side.

Rukia smiled. _Nadeko, eh? I'll have to remember to keep an eye out for that name coming out of the academy._

–

Rukia narrowed her eyes at the screen of her Divine Messenger Machine, Daireishinki. The cellular phone of the Shinigami was probably as magnificent as the overly flowery name implied. You could do anything on a Daireishinki, up to and including checking your Soul Society bank account. That was what led to Rukia biting her own lip in thought.

Fishbone D was worth a lot of money.

Too much in fact. She did some number crunching in her head and estimated the bounty for that Hollow to be approximately an Eighth Seated Shinigami's entire monthly paycheck. That meant that it was capable of killing and eating most Eighth Seats. _What was a Hollow like that, doing in the patrol area of an Unseated Shinigami like me?_

A feeling of pride sprang to life as she realized how easily she killed it.

Even so, she dialed the number for the Twelfth Division's Technological Development Department, Gijutsukaihatsu Kyoku. She needed to know what was up with her assignment so she knew what to expect. Deviation from norms that early in an assignment was never a good sign for a mission, even if the margin of error for her was considerably wider than most Unseated Shinigami.

The phone's ringing ceased with a click and a clatter. "Hello, Gijutsukaihatsu Kyoku, Akon speaking. How may I be of assistance?" Rukia has heard of Akon, he was fairly high ranked inside the Gijutsukaihatsu Kyoku even if his rank in the actual Twelfth Division was low. Still, he sounded disrespectfully bored. Rukia couldn't help but wonder if he was always like that.

"This is Jusanbantai, Kuchiki Rukia. I'd like to request some information on District... Sansen... Roppyaku."

"Just a moment." The clatter of fingers hitting computer keys filled the silence for a brief moment. "Alright, what are you looking for?"

"I encountered a Hollow of above average strength recently. Considering the scope of my assignment this was considerably unexpected. I was hoping you could shed some light on this."

"Was the Hollow registered?"

"Yes in fact, it even had a bounty. It was registered as... Fishbone D." Another silence was punctuated by the clatter of keystrokes.

"Hm... that is strange. It is certainly native to District Thirty-Six Hundred, but it has not been encountered for over a year." Akon paused and gave another hum of thought. "It may have moved around and we simply lost track of it."

"I see..." Rukia rested a hand on her chin as she began to mull over the puzzle. "Could I get any more information on the area? How common are Hollows of that level of strength in this area?"

Akon's typing persisted much longer after that inquiry. Then he abruptly stopped. "Now this is considerably more strange. I can't find any records for District Thirty-Six Hundred for the last... eight months. The most recent report is from eight months and five days ago." He hit a few keys. "There hasn't been a Shinigami stationed there since then either... I have to bring this up to the Captain. I'll call you back."

Rukia could not even protest before he had hung up. "This... might be a problem."

–

Rukia found herself performing Konso with a disturbing regularity. If it was not obvious that there was a lack of Shinigami presence in Karakura before it was glaringly obvious after a round of patrols. That being said, the Hollow presence in the town was suspiciously small considering the same circumstances.

Regardless she did get a Hollow alert eventually, and she began tracking it with her phone's GPS. It was a marvel of technology that allowed them to pinpoint the approximate locations of Hollows. Rukia could not help but wish it was a little more accurate however, and didn't have a margin of error close to a half of a mile.

Even so, she did not have to search long. While her own spiritual sense failed her, she heard the screams of humans from an alley and rushed in. The alley was dark, but she could still make out the Hollow quite clearly. It was vaguely spider-like, with eight legs tipped with razor blades. What was a little strange however was its neon pink skin and the decorative pink stripes adorning the forehead of the mask that enveloped the Hollow's entire head like a helmet.

Then the Hollow spoke, lifting a plus of some gangster that was ripped from his mortal body by his skewered shoulder. "Stop! Don't move... um... Shinigami." The voice was feminine, and Rukia could not help but suddenly understand what people meant when they describe a woman's voice as sounding like bells. In spite of the unearthly echo as her voice reverberated off the inside of the mask, the Hollow's voice was still beautiful. "I can eat this one still... if you move."

Rukia could not help but balk at the cowardly act. It had taken a hostage? Hollows rarely were smart enough to think to do that and few despicable enough to carry it out. At least this one seemed unsure of itself.

"Just don't move, or I'll have to hurt this one." The Hollow reminded and kept still, focused, waiting.

Then it released the Plus in an instant and jumped.

Rukia was barely able to catch herself in time to tip to the side and avoid a blue blur that exploded out of a hole in reality, the Garganta Hollows use to move between space. Even still, it nicked her side with something razor sharp. Several razor sharp things in fact, and her kosode and shitage were sliced neatly through and thin scratches began to bleed on her side. _It's fast._ Was pretty much all she had time to think before whirling to face it. It was a wolf-like Hollow adorned with a coat of thin blue fire and the capacity to stand upright, its front paws shaped more like hands tipped with claws more akin to razor blades. _An ambush?_ Rukia wondered briefly.

"Oh no, I seem to have missed." The Hollow lamented, its voice sounding far too innocent as it shrugged flippantly. "I was hoping to have finished you off in one strike. This is a bad idea after all... but I can't even do that much. Looks like you're going to meet with him after all." The Hollow began to fade into another Garganta. "Too bad."

With that Hollow gone Rukia spun around, on guard, only to discover she was trapped in an alleyway that was completely encased in a thin, glowing, orange webbing like a cocoon. The spider-like Hollow slowly lowered from the top of the makeshift room. "Sorry. Carojo-san was not supposed to do that."

Rukia paled considerably as she realized exactly how bad her situation was. _This is a complete trap._ She began to flair her spiritual pressure in idle hopes that someone, somewhere, would come to her rescue.

"Nobody will come." The Hollow intoned sadly. "This web is mine, and it has the power to mask Reiatsu. Nobody on the outside can feels what happens inside of it."

Rukia's hope nearly died then, but she managed to steel herself and grasp the hilt of her sword. At the very least she could go down fighting.

"Very good." A voice rumbled out from the void behind her, her eyes widened in fear as a crushing Reiatsu filled the webbed alleyway. "You react well to being cornered. So you're a Shinigami, eh?"

Rukia hissed lowly as she forced herself to turn and face the new Hollow. The Reiatsu was at least Lieutenant level, and if she had been more prepared she might not have been so overwhelmed by it, but she had already shown weakness. It perhaps did not help that this Hollow was half again as tall as she was, its whole body was bone white and its mask resembled a skull with three red striped on the left side of its forehead, and a mane of bright orange hair behind it. Its long lizard-like tail whipped idly as it examined her.

Rukia swallowed the fear in her throat. "I am." She could not help but wonder if that creature was a Menos Grande.

"Interesting. I hear you types are extra tasty." The Hollow chuckled lowly.

Rukia took a few deep breaths as she adapted to the Hollow's Reiatsu. This was too well planned. There had to be some kind of reason. These Hollows seemed to be working together. "So... is this retaliation? Was Fishbone D one of yours?"

The Hollow actually laughed. "As if I'd ever have anything to do with that piece of trash! No. Not just no, but fuck no." He gave a single dismissive wave, and Rukia felt as if she had received some manner of order from a Captain.

_He has... a surprisingly commanding presence._ She mused with growing dread.

"Even so, you are the first Shinigami I've met. Naturally, this is my territory, so I want to set some ground rules."

Rukia could not help but balk wordlessly at the Hollow. _Ground rules? He wants to negotiate terms? He thinks he has the power or the right to negotiate with the Goteijusantai?_

The Hollow tipped over a nearby trashcan and rolled it to Rukia with a kick. "Sit." It took its own seat on the edge of a dumpster. "I do not know how long this may take, so there is no reason we cannot be civil."

"Civil?" Rukia found herself repeating in disbelief.

"Is it so hard to believe that not every Hollow you meet is a blithering idiot with no rational mind?" The Hollow growled, its patience nowhere near large enough to let Rukia continue to puzzle out the oddness of the situation.

Rukia forced herself to let go of her blade and take her seat. If the Hollow wanted to fight it would have done so before.

"Very good." The Hollow crossed its arms, its commanding aura returned full force. "I am Estago Barbrero. This is my territory, and here I am King. I am stronger than you, and if I want you dead, I will kill you. However, I am aware that you Shinigami are not only great in number, but also organized. While my kind are many, Hollows revel in anarchy."

Rukia began to understand what Estago was doing then. He was posturing. "Goteijusantai, Jusanbantai, Unseated Officer Kuchiki Rukia. What exactly do you want?"

Estago seemed unimpressed by her formal introduction. "What I _want_ is to devour you. However this meeting is not about what I want." The Hollow was remarkably unconvincing. "While I could kill you and any Shinigami sent after you with magnificent ease, I have companions that lack such power. In return for you and your ilk leaving them alone, I will leave you alone. The rules are simple. If a Hollow claims to be a member of my brood you will let them run away. If they are lying then I will deal with them myself in time. In return I will not hunt you, and you are free to help any Plus you find pass on even if a member of my brood is already hunting it. However if we devour a plus then it is out of your hands."

Rukia clenched her teeth. "So you want me to stop-."

"Doing your job?" The Hollow chuckled. "I don't give half a shit what you call it. I am a King. I have subjects I need to protect, underlings to save, and accomplices to bail out. If you want me to see things from your perspective you are barking up the wrong tree, Shinigami." Estago's yellow eyes narrowed and his masked mouth opened slightly. "If you disagree or betray me... then I will just devour you."

Rukia took some deep breaths. "I have superiors you know? Superiors far stronger than even you. With just one call a Shinigami Captain can be sent here to eradicate you personally."

Estagi's humor vanished immediately. "You are serious." The Hollow considered. "Then I should just devour you now so you can't call them, right?"

Rukia could not help but avert her gaze. "We are taught never to compromise with Hollows. If you slay me then a stronger Shinigami will take my place. I am not afraid of death." _However..._ the word died on the tip of her tongue. There was no 'however' those were the simple facts. _However... Estago is different._ She clenched her teeth as she failed to avoid thinking it. It was true. Too true to ignore. Estago wanted to protect his comrades, just like any human or Shinigami. "However... I would personally gain nothing but a quick death. I also have no guarantee that I will actually be missed, or that the next Shinigami will truly be stronger than you. I am far above the normal for my rank, my sacrifice could very well be in vein."

Estago chuckled again. "I see... so your best option is to agree with me and then betray me anyway." _Honor-less, a Shinigami would never consider such a thing._ If it was possible for the Hollow to grin, Rukia felt Estago would have. "However my best option is to devour you now and hope the next Shinigami is a dumbass that doesn't figure that out."

Rukia flinched. "So that's it then?"

Estago shrugged. "Who knows? I think you're starting to interest me, Shinigami. You are indeed a lot stronger than your first impression led me to believe. You have already completely adapted to my Reiatsu."

Rukia's eyes widened for a mere instant. "I realized you are very strong for a Hollow. It is abnormal."

Estago laughed. "That's just a neutral way of saying you are interested in me too. Don't dance around your words, Shinigami. I am a Hollow, your formalities are tiresome with me."

Rukia sighed. "Alright, well this still doesn't solve our problem."

Estago chuckled. "Yes, it still comes down to a question of me doing to the smart thing or the dumb thing. If I do the smart thing, then you will die. If I do the dumb thing, then my brood and I might die."

Rukia gazed up at him in blasé curiosity. "Why only 'might'?"

"Because you may spare us anyway." The dark grin beneath the mask could be felt as easily as the Reiatsu in the air.

* * *

EDIT (4/17/11): Rewrote the chapter. The events and what happens are all the same, but there have been some minor changes along with a general improvement of overall writing style. Still working on chapter 2, but it's coming along however slowly.

EDIT (9/4/11): Minor edits to tidy up some terminology and stuff.


End file.
